Looking into the history of a street name often produces a story worth retelling. In our area, one of the best examples is Waterman Boulevard in Fairfield, named after a sea captain who set clipper ship speed records but faced a lynch mob that wanted him hanged for brutalizing his crew.

Robert “Bully Bob” Waterman founded Fairfield and became a successful farmer following a long career at sea. Judging from accounts of the way sailors were treated aboard his ships, it was a transition that probably saved some lives — including that of Waterman, who battled mutineers in an 1851 voyage aboard the Challenge.

The Challenge was designed to be faster than any other clipper ship, and the owners expected Waterman to set another record, as he had done aboard the Sea Witch in 1849. A 74-day run from Hong Kong to New York by the Sea Witch remains a record for monohull sailing vessels. But when Waterman sailed from New York, bound for San Francisco, on July 13, 1851, the Challenge crew was inexperienced and his first mate, James Douglass, had a reputation as one of the toughest first mates in the fleet. “Black Douglass” was happy to sign on. He had been so rough on the crew of the ship he had just left that it was unsafe for him to remain in port.

Light winds slowed the ship early in the voyage, and Waterman tried to increase speed by adding extra sail — a dangerous maneuver even with an experienced crew. Stifling heat and harsh discipline by Douglass caused more tension. The Challenge became a “hell ship” ripe for mutiny.

As the Challenge sailed down the Brazilian coast on Aug. 17, one of the men complained that some of his gear was missing. An angry Douglass ordered all hands to bring their chests and sea bags on deck to be searched, and began beating sailors to rush the action along. Suddenly, while sifting through the chests and bags, he was attacked by several sailors, thrown to the deck and stabbed in the thigh.

Waterman rushed to help Douglass and smashed one man, George Smith, over the head with a sextant. The men scattered as Douglass, back on his feet, attacked them with a belaying pin. Smith admitted later that a mutiny had been planned soon after the Challenge had set sail. The plan was to kill Waterman and Douglass and take the ship to Rio de Janeiro. Waterman had Smith and several other sailors flogged — a practice that had been outlawed a year earlier.

Matters grew worse as the Challenge approached Cape Horn, with its screaming winds and mountainous seas. A short, furious squall was followed by a fierce gale that caused waves as high as 60 feet, and men were ordered aloft to take in sails before they were ripped to shreds. Three died, including two who fell into the sea and one who fell to the deck.

Bad weather, brutality, injuries, exhaustion and more deaths occurred during the rest of the voyage, which took 108 days instead of the 90 days that Waterman had hoped for. The crew’s death toll climbed to nine by the time the Challenge, flying her distress flag, entered San Francisco Bay. After the ship’s arrival, a tenth sailor was taken to the Marine Hospital where he died.

Stories of the voyage circulated quickly in San Francisco and Waterman, while at the office of the ship owners’ agent, Alsop & Co., had to flee when an angry mob arrived and demanded that he be handed over. Waterman climbed a ladder to the roof of the building, pulled the ladder up after him, and then leaped to the roof of the building next door, where he hid until the crowd dispersed.

Drawn-out court proceedings ended with Waterman being exonerated of all blame for the deaths on his ship. He was fined $400 for cruel treatment of one sailor; and Douglass was fined only $200 for the death of another crew member. Douglas also was fined $50 for assaulting the ship’s carpenter. Several sailors who had been charged with mutiny were released.

The Challenge was Waterman’s last voyage as a clipper ship captain. He already had a stake in Solano County, where he had bought an undivided one-third interest in the Suisun Rancho from Archibald Ritchie. Ritchie had purchased the rancho from Gen. Mariano Vallejo. Waterman then established the town of Bridgeport, later named Cordelia after his wife, about a half-mile from present-day Cordelia on the north side of Interstate 80.

On July 9, 1856, Waterman’s business partner, A.A. Ritchie was killed in a buggy accident. By the end of the month, Waterman and Ritchie’s widow, Martha, were appointed administrators of Ritchie’s estate. Ritchie’s widow gave him power of attorney over the remaining portions of land on the Suisun Rancho that had not already been sold. According to the assessor’s rolls, Waterman owned no property outright in Suisun Township until 1858, when he acquired acreage in Fairfield, named after his birthplace in Connecticut.

On Sept. 2, 1858, Fairfield won the right to become the county seat for Solano County. A big factor was Waterman’s offer of $10,000 and 16 acres of land he called Union Park as well as “four Blocks in said village each containing 12 lots adjoining said Union Park on the north, east and or south side, but that the said Union Park is to be kept and used for public buildings.”

By 1859, Waterman acquired 17 acres of land which contained improvements valued at $2,500. By 1878, the official Thompson & West Map shows that Waterman had increased his ranch holding to 875 acres and a county directory of 1883 lists Waterman as owning a total of 1,201 acres.

Waterman died Aug. 8, 1884. Cordelia died in November of the following year. She had moved back to Stratford, Connecticut after Robert died. In 1886, Robert Waterman’s body was moved from Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco and reburied next to his wife in Mountain Grove Cemetery in Stratford, Conn..

More information on Waterman can be found in A.B.C. Whipple’s book, “The Challenge,” and in several articles by Vacaville historian Jerry Bowen, available online at www.solanoarticles.com/history/index.php/

— Vallejo and other Solano County communities are treasure troves of early-day California history. The “Solano Chronicles” column, running every other Sunday, highlights various aspects of that history. If you have local stories or photos to share, email me at genoans@hotmail.com. You can also send any material care of the Times-Herald, 420 Virginia St.; or the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, 734 Marin St., Vallejo 94590.